Weekend Wrap-Up

As far as Thanksgiving Breaks go, this was a pretty good one.

We'll rewind to last Monday night where my dad met Kylee and me up at the Earl May open house.  They had so much fun creating greenery baskets and honestly, they turned out great! 

 Wednesday, the kids were thrilled to have the day off school.  We went to the gym in the morning and swam and worked out, then met Kent at his office to help set up and decorate the tree.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening baking sugar cookies and making homemade pizzas.

And playing garage ping pong! It was a good, good day.

Thursday morning we took a family walk.

This sweet dog walked with us most of the way! We couldn't get close enough to grab his collar to look for an owner but as we turned one corner we saw someone come pick him up.  Kase was so happy he found his owner.

We stopped by my mom and dad's house.  They were hosting Thanksgiving and we got to see them and my Grandpa Dean for a little while- long enough for Kylee to help make this cheese and cracker turkey! Then we headed to Collins.

The kids were all so excited to see each other.

More garage ping pong!

Kase literally ate just a plate full of ham.

The oldest and the youngest grandkids on this side of the family! Kellen snuggled with Kael for a little while before her nap.

And while she slept, the rest of us painted canvases.  So fun.

Kylee is clearly the most talented here.

But Kellen had so much fun joining once she woke up!

The Patterson men.

We took a family walk to burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories!

Then Cindy had the cutest Christmas jammies for all the kids!

It was a really nice day with the family. Friday morning Kylee and I got up to Black Friday shop. She was thrilled that Starbucks spelled her name correctly!

We had a really nice family day.  We went to the gym, watched the Hawkeyes win, played some more garage ping pong, baked more cookies, and....told the kids we would be taking them to Chicago the next day to see Hamilton!

They were pretty excited and Kylee even surprised us with this sweet painting and note when we woke up Saturday morning.

We woke up early and got on the road.  The kids were great riders and we got to Chicago by lunchtime.

Kase was so excited to see this signed Hamilton poster!

We had the cutest little secret alcove dining area.

And the pizza was so, so good.

The kids were super excited about this waiter button that actually worked!

Then we headed for the CIBC Theater!

Kase wanted a Hamilton shirt.
\

We had great seats!

Kase was so, so excited.

It was a great show and I was so proud to have my whole family there. They all sat so well and seemed to really enjoy it.

Later we stopped by Millennium  Park to see the Christmas tree all lit up. It was so pretty!

We also saw The Bean!

It was pretty cold but Kael wasn't afraid to touch it!

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby where Kase and I had fun making ketchup art.

It was such a fun day! We headed back to our hotel to relax and watch a Christmas movie before bed. The next day we got up early to head home.  We made good time, got home and unpacked then headed to the gym for a bit.  Later we had dinner at my parents and told them all about the trip.  What a great Thanksgiving weekend!